Nigerian Afrobeats star Davido has written directly to U.S. President Donald Trump, urging close monitoring of the Osun State governorship election scheduled for August 15, 2026, to protect voters and ensure transparency in the electoral process.
The singer, whose full name is David Adeleke, addressed the message personally to Trump on the social media platform X, calling for international attention to tensions he said had developed around the poll in Osun State, southwestern Nigeria, a region that has historically seen competitive and sometimes contentious electoral contests.
Davido is backing his uncle, incumbent Governor Ademola Adeleke of the Accord Party, who is seeking to retain the Osun governorship against a field of challengers contesting the Saturday election. Governor Adeleke, a former senator and popular figure in Osun State, won the governorship in 2022 in an election that itself was marked by legal disputes before his victory was upheld.
The principal opposition candidate in the race is Bola Oyebamiji of the All Progressives Congress, the APC, who is among the challengers facing the Accord Party incumbent in what is shaping up as a closely watched contest.
In his post addressed to the U.S. president, Davido urged Trump and the international community to monitor the election and called on Nigerian authorities to protect voters and ensure that ballots cast by residents of Osun State are respected and counted.
The singer stated that his appeal was driven by concerns over tension and the possibility of violence, intimidation, or disruption of the democratic process ahead of the poll scheduled for Saturday. He emphasized that the integrity of the vote was paramount and that the people of Osun State deserved a free and fair process.
Davido called on relevant authorities to ensure that every voter in Osun State could exercise the constitutional right to vote freely and without fear, according to the content of his X post as captured in the trending discussion online.
The post generated fast and widespread reaction on social media platforms, drawing commentary from users across Nigeria and beyond within hours of the message going live on Davido’s account, which commands tens of millions of followers.
Online users responded with jokes directed at the singer for bypassing Nigeria’s own president when making his election-related appeal, with the decision to write directly to Trump rather than to Nigerian federal authorities drawing pointed commentary.
Memes depicting Davido in distress also spread rapidly across platforms following the publication of the post, with users creating and sharing humorous content tied to the singer’s decision to appeal to the American president.
Beyond the humor, the post also triggered a broader debate online about the role of celebrities in high-stakes political contests, with users divided on whether entertainers should involve themselves at this level in electoral disputes.
Some commenters backed the singer’s right to raise concerns about the election and to appeal to international figures for attention, while others questioned the appropriateness of directing such an appeal to a foreign head of state rather than engaging domestic institutions or election monitoring bodies.
The August 15 poll will determine who governs Osun State following the election day, with Governor Adeleke of the Accord Party defending his position against the APC’s Oyebamiji and other candidates on the ballot.
Davido’s intervention adds to the public conversation surrounding the Osun governorship race, which has attracted significant attention as the incumbent and his challengers close out their campaigns ahead of Saturday’s vote.
The appeal to Trump, the decision to skip a direct message to Nigeria’s own president, and the online reaction it generated have all placed Davido’s name at the center of political discussion in Nigeria as the Osun governorship election approaches on Saturday.
